Process of obtaining natural worm-eaten art wood



Nov. 29, 1949 H. RElTZ PROCESS OF OBTAINING'NATURAL WORM-EATEN ART WOOD Filed Sept. 19, 1946 IN V EN TOR. HARM rz M A TTORNE Y.

@ ma m Patented Nov. 29, 1949 7 PROCESS OF OBTAINING NATURAL WORM-EATEN ART WOOD Harry Reitz, Wichita, Kans.

Application September 19, 1946, Serial No. 697,957

5 Claims. (Cl. 144-309) My invention relates to an improvement in processes of producing wood having a natural worm eaten surface as an artistic material for art work such as picture frames, furniture, wainscoting and the like.

Now referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar numerals of reference designate the same parts throughout the several figures of the drawings; Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a limb or tree log which has been worm eaten and illustrating the steps taken to obtain the worm eaten wood.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a limb or log that has been worm eaten and cleaned, and illustrating how or where the limb or log is to be cut to obtain the worm eaten surface lumber.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a piece of worm eaten lumber after it has been cut from the limb or log' shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view illustrating the useof the material, the material being used in making an ornamental picture frame.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a-small coffee table or the like in which the worm eaten lumber has been used.

The process employed to obtain the worm eaten wood is to cut the tree in the spring or sap season of the year and allow the logs and large limbs of the tree to lay on the ground or in piles to or through the fall or winter seasons of the year, during which time the worms, termites and insects of various kinds will either penetrate the bark -6 of the log or limb, or enter between the bark and wood at a point such as indicated at 8 and eat the surface of the wood 9 to leave irregular pits and pathways ill, or even holes II in the wood 9 where the worms, etc., have eaten the wood. These pits, pathways, holes, etc., II) are left by the worms etc., with debris l I.

After the logs and limbs have been eaten as above described and the sap has dried up in the fall or winter season of the year, the bark 6 will become loosened on the logs or limbs and may be knocked or peeled off of the logs or limbs to expose the pit filled surface of the wood .portion of the logs or limbs. This may be done by the use of a :power driven, rather stiff steel buffer brush.

After the bark I has been removed from the logs and limbs, they may be brushed with a stiff brush buffed with a power driven steel buffer or brush, whereby the debris in the pits and pathways and holes in the wood may be removed therefrom and leave the clean pitted surface of the wood in a polished condition as illustrated in Fig. 2.

After the logs and limbs have been cleaned and polished as above described, strips maybe sawed from the sides of the logs and limbs as indicated along the line l2 to produce .the pieces of lumber having the worm eaten surface as shown in Fig. 3.

This lumber is desirable for use in making ornamental picture frames as illustrated in Fig. 4, or in making ornamental furniture as illustrated in Fig. 5, or in making anything else where such an ornamental wood surface is desired.

Due to the process employed in obtaining the worm eaten surface of the lumber, a solid polished wood surface is obtained, which will take a very nice wood stain or varnish and present a nice wood finish.

Due to the process employed in obtaining the worm eaten surface of the lumber no two pieces are duplicates. Therefore the artistic character of the product made of the lumber is very much increased.

Such modifications of my invention may be employed as lie within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intention of the invention. Now having fully shown and described my invention, what I claim is;

1. The process of producing natural worm eaten art wood; said process comprising the cutting down of trees in the sap season of the year and letting the cut down trees lay exposed to the weather, insects and worms through the sap season of the year, and until the bark of the cut down tree has dried and become loose on the tree, and then removing the bark from the tree'and then removing the debris from the worm pits in the wood.

2. The process of producing natural worm eaten art wood; said process comprising the cutting down of trees in the sap season of the year and letting the cut down trees lay exp'osed to the weather, insects and worms through the sap season of the year, and until the bark of the cut down tree has dried and become loose on the tree, and then removing the bark from. the tree and 2,4aaaee then removing the debris from the worm pits in the wood by brushing and bufllng the surface of the log to leave a substantial solid worm eaten wood surface.

3. The process of producing natural worm eaten art wood; said .process comprising the cutting down of trees in the sap season of the year and letting the cut down trees lay exposed to the weather. insects and worms through the sap sea trees in the sap season of the year, then letting 2 the trees lay exposed to the weather, insects, worms and the like, unti1 the bark of the trees has become dried and loosened from the wood of the trees, .then removing the bark and debris from the wood surface of the trees and then bumng the wood surface of the trees to leave a clean solid wood surface having natural pits and indenturm therein formed by the worms and the like, and then polishing the entire surface of the wood as a. finished natural worm eaten art wood.

5. The process of obtaining natural worm eaten art wood; said process being as defined in claim 4, said process being iurthed advanced by cutting segments from the surface of the polished worm eaten tree logs to produce curved surface boards having the natural worm eaten surface thereon. HARRY REI'I'Z.

REFERENCES -CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Date 0 Number Name 446,962 Bryce Feb. 24, 12:91 1,943,597 Gilmer Jan. 15, 1931 2,355,553 Owens, et al. Aug. 8, 1944' 

